Fighting for workers' rights in Alberta's agricultural sector

More than 50,000 Albertans work in the agricultural sector. They account for 2.6 per cent of our workforce — and until this legislation was introduced, they had few legal protections in their workplace. One in five agricultural workers in Alberta work at worksites with more than 20 employees.

And despite the fact that farming has become more and more industrialized, workers in agriculture do not have the right to a safe workplace, the right to form a union, the right to refuse unsafe work, or the right to be compensated if they are injured.

Those egregious omissions are being dealt with by Alberta's new government with Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, which is set to come into force early in 2016.

Under legislation Alberta’s agricultural businesses will be forced to comply with the same laws and legislations that govern all other businesses in the province, including Alberta’s Occupational Health & Safety Act, Traffic Safety Act, Workers’ Compensation Act, and Labour Code.